An aircraft carrying an ordinance, such as a weapon, typically utilizes an umbilical connector and a single loop contiguous lanyard for release of the ordinance. The connector interfaces between the ordinance and a lanyard cable, and the lanyard cable is looped around an aircraft mounted post, also known as a “bail bar.”
The ordinance mounts to the connector using a receptacle on the ordinance. The spatial orientation of the receptacle can vary from one ordinance to the next. Accordingly, the spatial orientation with respect to the bail bar varies from one ordinance to the next. As a result, problems may arise if there is too much slack in the lanyard. For example, impulse loading can occur on the lanyard cable, and the lanyard may break or the connector may be damaged. In addition, too much or too little slack in the lanyard may affect the release of the ordinance, or in the case of no slack, cause premature in-flight actuation of the connector.
Most conventional lanyard designs do not allow for variations in the distance between the ordinance and the bail bar. Therefore, a number of lanyards having different lengths may be needed, so the lanyards are switched out based on the ordinance being utilized. The drawback to this conventional design is the difficulty for a user to quickly change the lanyard to suit a specific ordinance.
Therefore, a need exists for a device or mechanism that allows a user to quickly adjust the length of a lanyard and is easy to use.